Chickpea curry for bloke help please!

mrbadexample · 20 February 2006 at 8:00PM

My quest to learn cooking continues.... :j

This week I am starting my thread early as I will need more preparation time.

Smiley Mum has kindly found me this link: http://vegetarian.allrecipes.com/az/ChickpCrry.asp which looks good. :drool:

However as I am still a bloke (last time I looked, anyway :eek: ) I will still need extra help.

I have been brave and bought dried chick-peas. I have no idea how many to use. I also have no scales. I don't know how to make them into not-dried-chick-peas, other than it takes some soaking and boiling? How much and how long?

I think I've got the spices covered, except the cayenne - I've got paprika. What's the difference, and does it matter? I will go and get cayenne if I have to, but to be honest I'm fed up standing in front of the spices in Morrisons looking gormless and confused. :rolleyes:

I have noticed that they call ground coriander "ground coriander", yet call fresh coriander "cilantro". They also call chick peas "garbanzo beans". This is clearly some fiendish plot to prevent me from understanding. :mad:

The recipe says to mince the onions and garlic. How can I mince the onions? I don't have a mincer. I haven't bought a stick blender yet as they were £13.99 in Morrisons :eek: and I've spent all me cash on spices and a big knife that might cope with swede.

I will pop into Tesco next time I pass and get one, if I remember.

Ginger root - this is a new thing for me. How do I deal with it?

Ok, sorry this is a bit long.

There's plenty of time as Thursday is cooking night, so don't all pile in at once! First thing I need to know is how to prepare the dried chick-peas.

Cheers all :beer:

MBE

twink · 20 February 2006 at 8:08PM

dont have a clue about chickpea curry!! but i got a stick blender from asda for£4.97p and a years guarantee with it. saw them in tesco too

arkonite_babe · 20 February 2006 at 8:14PM

MBE

Here's some Chick Pea Advice for you. I use a cup to measure pulses, roughly a cup per four people in our house seems to work ok. Paprika will do instead of cayenne, I've done this loads of times.

Your recipe is written for the american audience, perhaps This page might offer some help? Failing that I'd ask HOLsale nicely if I were you

Ginger root just needs the skin removed like a potato. Peel it with a sharp knife or vegetable peeler before chopping grating etc.

Another idea for veggie curry type recipe is This one I made it this weekend and it was yummy, cheap and very filling.

Mincing onions just means to chop them up very finely.

HTH

Smiley_Mum · 20 February 2006 at 8:16PM

MBE,

This link should help with the Garbanzo beans/chickpeas etc.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=58

Look forward to seeing the pic of the end result. :-)

Ginger root...

http://www.chinesefood-recipes.com/cooking_guide_tips/how_to_prepare_ginger.php

recovering_spendaholic · 20 February 2006 at 8:20PM

Chick peas are very easy to deal with!! Just get a coffee mug and fill it with the dried peas. Put them in a large bowl and pour on 4 mugs of cold water. Leave overnight (so if you are cooking them tomorrow I'd do it now!). When soaked for 12 hours or more, throw away the soaking water and put in a large pan and cover with 6 mugs of cold water. NOTHING ELSE!! don't add salt or anything or they won't soften. Bring to the boil and boil rapidly for 10 minutes - this is vital as there are toxins and stuff which you need to kill off and also they will give you indigestion if you don't do this. After they have boiled for 10 mins turn heat down and cook for about an hour and a half. Drain and rinse and they are ready to use. Just a small question - why don't you just use curry powder? Cos then you could just fry a chopped onion, add some curry powder (bout a tablespoon), add two chopped eating apples, the chick peas, a tin of chopped tomatoes, the tin from the tomatoes filled with water, a tsp of sugar, a tsp of lemon juice, a tablespoon of mango chutney, a splash of vinegar, handful of sultanas and cook it all in a big pan for about an hour until the juice has reduced and the curry is thick. Add in a big handful of chopped corriander leaves just before serving with rice and or chips, poppadums and naan!!

Rikki · 20 February 2006 at 8:20PM

Good Luck Mr BE. This is going to be fun.

Dried chick peas need soaking in a bowl of cold water over night.

crossleydd42 · 20 February 2006 at 8:26PM

I don[t know anyone who uses fresh chickpeas. because you can use the ones in tins, which saves a lot of fiddling. They are just a good in tine.
Here's an easy, but delicious recipe:

Mushroom and Chickpea Curry

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
100g mushrooms, sliced
2 x15ml spoonfuls curry paste
2 x15ml spoonfuls tomato puree
200g chickpeas, canned (drained)
1 can coconut milk
1 x 15ml spoonful oil

Equipment

Chopping board, knife, can opener, saucepan, garlic press, wooden spoon, measuring jug and measuring spoons.

Method

1. Peel and chop the onion.
2. Slice the mushrooms.
3. Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the onion, garlic and mushrooms for 5 minutes.
4. Stir in the curry paste, tomato puree, drained chickpeas and coconut milk.
5. Simmer for 20 minutes.
6. Serve with rice and/or naan bread.

ashmit · 20 February 2006 at 10:06PM

I don[t know anyone who uses fresh chickpeas. because you can use the ones in tins, which saves a lot of fiddling. They are just a good in tine.

Cause they're cheaper, you have more control about how many you use, and if you can't be bothered boiling them you can sprout them instead

I tend to soak and boil a big panful at once and freeze them all, so I can just grab as many as I need - kinda like frozen peas

Edited to add the link to the government advice on cooking dried beans. Only red kidney beans and soya beans require the rapid boil and long simmer. All others will be fine with soaking and boiling for shorter periods.

the_skint_minx · 20 February 2006 at 10:09PM

If you have an asian food shop nearby, I can recommend the boxes of spice mix that they sell - get one that says channa masala or vegetable masala or similar (whichever has the nicest picture on the box!) They are not very expensive and make a great chick pea (or other veg) curry. You fry an onion, chuck a couple of tablespoons of spice mix, a tin of tomatoes and a tin of chick peas.

Stops you buying tons of different spices that you don't get much use out of (unless you're really good at curry, which I'm not).

mrbadexample · 21 February 2006 at 12:42AM

arkonite_babe wrote:

MBE

I use a cup to measure pulses, roughly a cup per four people in our house seems to work ok. Paprika will do instead of cayenne, I've done this loads of times.

Mincing onions just means to chop them up very finely.

HTH

What size cup? :rotfl: Do you mean a teacup-size cup? For 4 people? :eek: That doesn't seem very much. So I'll only need two cupfuls out of this great big bag for the 8 portion recipe? I'd best throw in a few extra just in case.

Ok, how do I chop onions very finely without crying like a girl? I usually end up chopping them into ½ inch bits because I get fed up with it. :rolleyes:

Can I freeze this curry once it's done?

mrbadexample · 21 February 2006 at 12:46AM

Rikki wrote:

Good Luck Mr BE. This is going to be fun.

Dried chick peas need soaking in a bowl of cold water over night.

Can I oversoak them?

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Chickpea curry for bloke help please!

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